Polling Data on Guns

Posted on Monday, September 10th, 2012

There is extensive public support for background checks of prospective gun purchasers, from licensed dealers, to gun shows, to all other private transactions. A poll conducted in August 2012 found that 96% of respondents support abackground check on anyone attempting to purchase a gun in order to determine whether the prospective buyer has been convicted of a felony. That poll also found that 91% of respondents favor preventing certain people, such as convicted felons or people with mental illness, from owning guns.1

Gun owners and NRA members also strongly support background checks for gun purchasers. A May 2012 poll of gun owners – including NRA members – found that:

87% of NRA members agree that support for Second Amendment rights goes hand-in-hand with keeping guns out of the hands of criminals; and

74% of NRA members and 87% of non-NRA gun owners support requiring criminal background checks of anyone purchasing a gun.2

A poll conducted in April 2012 found that 91% of respondents support background checks for gun purchasers.3

A February 2011 poll found that more than 83% of respondents in the five bellwether states of Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Virginia and Ohio, including more than 75% of gun owners, favor requiring all gun purchasers to pass a background check. Similarly, over 82% of poll respondents in these states, including more than 77% of gun owners, support requiring all sellers at gun shows to run background checks for all gun sales.4

A January 2011 poll found that 89% favor requiring all firearm purchasers at gun shows to pass a criminal background check.5 This poll also found that 86% of respondents, including 81% of gun owners, favor requiring all gun buyers to pass a criminal background check, regardless of type of seller or venue.6

A 2009 poll conducted for Mayors Against Illegal Guns found that NRA members (69%) and non-NRA member gun owners (85%) support requiring all sellers at gun shows to conduct criminal background checks of the people buying guns.7

A poll conducted shortly after the 2008 presidential election found that 83% of voters, including 84% of gun owners, favor criminal background checks for all gun sales.8

Another 2008 poll conducted for Mayors Against Illegal Guns found that 87% of Americans favor requiring everyone who sells guns to conduct criminal background checks on prospective purchasers, including 83% of gun owners.9

A national survey conducted for Mayors Against Illegal Guns one year earlier, in January 2007, found that 92% of Americans favor (80% strongly favor) mandatory criminal background checks for all people purchasing guns. Ninety-one percent of gun owners favor mandatory background checks.10

A national study of police chiefs’ support for firearm regulations found that 82% of respondents favored requiring a background check for the purchase of a rifle or shotgun.11

A poll of likely 2004 presidential election voters found that 92% favor improving the background check system to make gun purchaser background checks faster and more accurate.That poll also found that 90% of Americans support requiring background checks for all firearms sales at gun shows.12

Eighty percent of Americans polled in 2006 support criminal background checks for all sales of guns.13

A poll of likely 2004 presidential election voters found that 79% of Americans support a requirement that anyone who purchases a firearm undergo a background check, even if they buy the firearm from a friend or neighbor.14

A 2001 poll found that over 77% of Americans favor requiring background checks for all private firearm sales.15

A poll of high school students concerning firearm-related policies found that 92% of students support background checks for all gun sales.16

Tom W. Smith, National Opinion Research Center (NORC)/University of Chicago, Public Attitudes Towards the Regulation of Firearms (Mar. 2007) (discussing the results of the “2006 General Social Survey” NORC/University of Chicago) , at http://www.icpgv.org/pdf/NORCPoll.pdf. [↩]

Tom W. Smith, National Opinion Research Center (NORC)/University of Chicago, Public Attitudes Towards the Regulation of Firearms (Mar. 2007) (discussing the results of the 2001 “National Gun Policy Survey” conducted by NORC/University of Chicago), at http://www.icpgv.org/pdf/NORCPoll.pdf. [↩]

Posted on Sunday, September 9th, 2012

A 2012 poll of gun owners – including NRA members – found support for restrictions related to carrying concealed weapons. Among the poll’s findings:

75% of NRA members believe concealed carry permits should only be granted to applicants who have not committed any violent misdemeanors, including assault.

74% of NRA members believe permits should only be granted to applicants who have completed gun safety training.

68% of NRA members believe permits should only be granted to applicants who do not have prior arrests for domestic violence.

63% of NRA members believe permits should only be granted to applicants 21 years of age or older.1

A poll of registered voters conducted in April 2010 found that 57% feel less safe when they learn that loaded concealed guns may lawfully be carried in public. Fifty-six percent of registered voters oppose allowing people to carry concealed guns in public, with 41% strongly opposing concealed carry.2

Another poll found that nearly 52% of Americans favor authorizing the carrying of concealed weapons only for persons who demonstrate a special need to carry a concealed weapon.4

A 1999 NBC News/Wall Street Journal Poll found that 73% of Americans disapprove of making it easier for people to legally carry concealed weapons.5

Americans are more likely to feel less safe rather than more safe if more people in their community acquire firearms. A study6 reviewing surveys on public attitudes toward guns in the U.S. found:

In a 1996 survey, that 59% of respondents would feel less safe as more people in their community began to carry guns;

In a 1999 survey, that an overwhelming majority said “No,” in response to questions regarding whether average citizens should be allowed to bring their guns into restaurants (88%), college campuses (94%), sports stadiums (94%), bars (93%), hospitals (91%), or government buildings (92%).

CNN/Opinion Research Corp. Poll, Most Americans Say the Constitution Guarantees the Right to Own a Gun, Latest CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll Shows (June 28, 2008), available at http://www.opinionresearch.com/fileSave/CNNPR_Gun_6_28_2008.pdf. [↩]

Tom W. Smith, National Opinion Research Center (NORC)/University of Chicago, Public Attitudes Towards the Regulation of Firearms (Mar. 2007) (discussing the results of the 2001 “National Gun Policy Survey” conducted by NORC/University of Chicago), at http://www.icpgv.org/pdf/NORCPoll.pdf. [↩]

Posted on Sunday, September 9th, 2012

A poll conducted in August 2012 found that 96% of respondents support abackground check on anyone attempting to purchase a gun in order to determine whether the prospective buyer has been convicted of a felony. That poll also found that 91% of respondents favor preventing certain people, such as convicted felons or people with mental illness, from owning guns.1

A February 2011 poll found that 91% of respondents in the five bellwether states of Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Virginia and Ohio support requiring federal agencies to share information about suspected dangerous persons or terrorists to prevent them from buying guns.2

A January 2011 poll found that 91% of respondents favor requiring federal agencies to share information about suspected dangerous persons or terrorists, in order to prevent them from buying guns.3

That poll also found that 90% of respondents favor fixing the gaps in government databases that are meant to prevent the mentally ill, drug abusers and others from buying guns.4 Nearly 79% of respondents favor notifying state and local law enforcement when a person fails a background check for a firearm.5

NRA members (82%) and non-NRA member gun owners (86%) support a proposal prohibiting people on terrorist watch lists from purchasing guns. Sixty-one percent of NRA members and 69% of non-NRA member gun owners strongly support this proposal.6

Americans strongly support preventing felons and people with mental health problems from owning guns (88% favor, while only 12% oppose).7

A national survey conducted for Mayors Against Illegal Guns in January 2007 found that 85% of respondents, including 79% of gun owners, favor prohibiting people who have been convicted of illegal possession of a gun from purchasing guns.8

Nearly 77% of Americans favor prohibiting criminal access to guns, even if the prohibition makes it harder for law-abiding individuals to obtain guns.9

A 2001 survey of public attitudes toward prohibiting gun purchases to persons convicted of certain specified crimes found that Americans favor prohibiting guns in the hands of persons convicted of: a) publicly displaying a firearm in a threatening manner (94.7%); b) carrying a concealed weapon without a permit (83.7%); c) assault and battery not involving a lethal weapon or serious injury (82.9%); and d) driving under the influence of alcohol (68.5%).10

CNN/Opinion Research Corp. Poll, Most Americans Say the Constitution Guarantees the Right to Own a Gun, Latest CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll Shows (June 28, 2008), available at http://www.opinionresearch.com/fileSave/CNNPR_Gun_6_28_2008.pdf. [↩]

Tom W. Smith, National Opinion Research Center (NORC)/University of Chicago, Public Attitudes Towards the Regulation of Firearms (Mar. 2007) (discussing the results of the “2006 General Social Survey” NORC/University of Chicago) , at http://www.icpgv.org/pdf/NORCPoll.pdf. [↩]

Posted on Saturday, September 8th, 2012

A poll conducted in August 2012 found that 57% of those polled favor a ban on the manufacture, sale and possession of semi-automatic assault weapons.1

A June 2011 poll confirms support for a national assault weapons ban: 62% of Americans polled support a federal ban on the sale of assault weapons.2

A January 2011 poll of registered voters found that 81% of respondents favor the tracking of bulk purchases of assault rifles; guns that recently have become the weapon of choice of Mexican drug cartels.3

Another poll conducted in January 2011 found that 63% of respondents favor a ban on assault weapons. A majority of gun-owning households – 54% – also support such a ban.4

A poll conducted shortly after the 2008 presidential election found that 65% of Americans, including 60% of gun owners, favor banning military style assault weapons.5

A 2006 poll found that 82% of Americans support restrictions on the sale of semi-automatic assault weapons.6

In 2004, a poll of likely presidential election voters found that 77% of overall respondents, and 66% of gun owning respondents, supported renewal of the now-expired federal assault weapon ban.7

Sixty-seven percent of Field & Stream readers do not consider assault weapons to be legitimate sporting guns.8

Tom W. Smith, National Opinion Research Center (NORC)/University of Chicago, Public Attitudes Towards the Regulation of Firearms (Mar. 2007) (discussing the results of the “2006 General Social Survey” NORC/University of Chicago) , at http://www.icpgv.org/pdf/NORCPoll.pdf. [↩]

Posted on Saturday, September 8th, 2012

NRA members (90%) and non-NRA member gun owners (93%) agree that irresponsible gun dealers who break the law by knowingly selling guns to unqualified purchasers should be held accountable to the maximum extent of the law. Seventy-two percent of NRA members and 79% of non-NRA member gun owners strongly agree with this concept.1

A May 2012 poll found that 79% of NRA members and 80% of non-NRA gun owners support requiring gun retailers to perform background checks on all employees – a measure recently endorsed by the National Shooting Sports Foundation, the trade association for the firearms industry.2

Eighty-two percent of NRA members and 85% of non-NRA member gun owners would support a requirement that gun retailers perform background checks on their employees to ensure they are not felons.3

A national poll conducted for Mayors Against Illegal Guns4 in the spring of 2008 found that Americans strongly favor thorough regulation of firearms dealers, including laws that:

Require gun retailers to perform background checks on their employees (91% of Americans favor, including 88% of gun owners);

Require gun retailers to inspect their inventories every year and report stolen or missing guns (86% of Americans favor, including 83% of gun owners);

Prohibit gun retailers whose licenses have been revoked from continuing to sell their guns without a new background check on the dealer (80% of Americans favor, including 80% of gun owners).

On the issue of gun dealers videotaping gun sales transactions, a survey conducted for Mayors Against Illegal Guns in January 2007 found that 91% of gun owners said being videotaped in a store while purchasing firearms would make no difference to them or would make them more likely to purchase a firearm from that retailer.5

For detailed information on gun dealer regulations, including policy background information and state and local laws on the topic, see our Dealer Regulations Policy Summary.

Posted on Saturday, September 8th, 2012

An April 2012 poll found that 69% of respondents support limiting the number of guns a person may purchase in a given time frame.1

A national poll conducted for Mayors Against Illegal Guns in the spring of 2008 found that 65% of Americans favor limiting the number of handguns an individual is allowed to purchase to one gun per month.2

A poll conducted shortly after the 2008 presidential election found that 54% of voters support limiting the number of guns that may be purchased at one time.3

A national survey conducted for Mayors Against Illegal Guns in January 2007 found that 57% of respondents, including 52% of gun owners, favor limiting the number of handguns an individual is allowed to purchase to one gun per month.4

A 2001 National Opinion Research Center poll found that 69.1% of Americans favor a limit of one handgun purchase per person per month.5

Tom W. Smith, National Opinion Research Center (NORC)/University of Chicago, Public Attitudes Towards the Regulation of Firearms (Mar. 2007) (discussing the results of the 2001 “National Gun Policy Survey” conducted by NORC/University of Chicago), at http://www.icpgv.org/pdf/NORCPoll.pdf. [↩]

Posted on Thursday, September 6th, 2012

An August 2012 poll found that 76% of respondents favor requiring gun owners to register their guns with local government.1

A January 2011 poll of registered voters found that 66% of respondents favor requiring every gun owner to register his or her firearms as part of a national gun registry.2

A poll conducted after the 2008 presidential election found that 68% of voters, including 60% of gun owners, support the registration of guns.3

A national poll conducted for Mayors Against Illegal Guns in the spring of 2008 found that 70% of Americans favor requiring every gun owner to register each gun he or she owns as part of a national gun registry.4

An earlier Mayors Against Illegal Guns poll, conducted in January 2007, found that 73% of respondents, including 54% of gun owners, favor a requirement that every gun owner register each gun he or she owns as part of a national gun registry.5

A 2008 CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll found that 79% of Americans favor requiring guns to be registered.6

A poll of likely 2004 presidential election voters found that 67% of Americans support requiring individual gun owners to register their firearms with the federal government.7

A nationwide poll conducted in May 2001 found that 70% of respondents mistakenly believe that a registration system already exists in the U.S. That poll showed that 83% of respondents, including 72% of gun owners, favor registration for newly-purchased handguns.8

Another 2001 poll conducted by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago found that 76.9% of Americans desire mandatory registration of handguns. Close to 70% of poll respondents also favor regular re-registering of handguns.9

A poll of high school students on firearm-related policies found that almost 96% of such students support mandatory registration of guns.10

CNN/Opinion Research Corp. Poll, Most Americans Say the Constitution Guarantees the Right to Own a Gun, Latest CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll Shows (June 28, 2008), available at http://www.opinionresearch.com/fileSave/CNNPR_Gun_6_28_2008.pdf. [↩]

Tom W. Smith, National Opinion Research Center (NORC)/University of Chicago, Public Attitudes Towards the Regulation of Firearms (Mar. 2007) (discussing the results of the 2001 “National Gun Policy Survey” conducted by NORC/University of Chicago), at http://www.icpgv.org/pdf/NORCPoll.pdf. [↩]

Posted on Friday, May 18th, 2012

A 2009 poll conducted for Mayors Against Illegal Guns found that 69% of NRA members and 74% of non-NRA member gun owners believe that the federal government should not restrict the police’s ability to access, use, and share data that helps them enforce federal, state and local gun laws.1

That same 2009 poll found that 96% of NRA member and 94% of non-NRA member gun owners believe that criminals who possess, use, and traffic in illegal guns should be punished to the maximum extent of the law. Eighty-six percent of NRA members and 85% of non-NRA member gun owners agree strongly with this concept.2

Another national survey conducted for Mayors Against Illegal Guns in January 2007 found that 91% of Americans think police should be allowed to find out who sold and bought a gun that is found at a crime scene. Seventy-eight percent of respondents strongly favor this policy.3

90% of poll respondents favor allowing police to share information with other cities and states about who sold and bought a gun that is found at a crime scene. Seventy-five percent of respondents strongly favor this policy.

72% of respondents favor using gun sales information to revoke the licenses of negligent gun retailers who repeatedly sell guns that end up being used in crimes. Fifty-seven percent of respondents strongly favor this policy.

66% of respondents favor (48% strongly favor) the use of gun sales information in lawsuits against firearm retailers who repeatedly sell guns that end up being used in crimes.

A national poll conducted for Mayors Against Illegal Guns in the spring of 2008 found that 79% of Americans favor raising the maximum federal penalty for illegal gun trafficking from 10 years to 20 years in prison.5

A poll of likely 2004 presidential election voters found that 86% of Americans favor making gun trafficking a crime with penalties as serious as drug trafficking.6

Posted on Friday, May 18th, 2012

A national survey conducted for Mayors Against Illegal Guns in January 2007 found that 82% of Americans want strict enforcement of current gun laws, and do not want such laws repealed. That survey also found that 76% of American gun owners want stricter enforcement of current gun laws and do not want such laws repealed.1

Tom W. Smith, National Opinion Research Center (NORC)/University of Chicago, Public Attitudes Towards the Regulation of Firearms (Mar. 2007) (discussing the results of the “2006 General Social Survey” NORC/University of Chicago) , at http://www.icpgv.org/pdf/NORCPoll.pdf. [↩]